Long-term investing is the key to success in the stock market. It's a hard lesson for many new investors to learn -- especially on Robinhood, where low-quality penny stocks can often steal the limelight. Fortunately, Robinhood investors are also high on some stocks that are set up for sustainable success because of their large competitive moats and long-term growth drivers.
The first I'm highlighting today is Visa (V 0.33%), the global payments processor that is a rock-solid bet in this increasingly consumption-driven economy. The second is Amazon (AMZN -1.64%), the e-commerce giant that's pivoting toward cloud computing and healthcare. Both companies are listed in Robinhood's top 100 with analyst buy ratings above 80%.
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Visa
In retail electronic payments, Visa enjoys undisputed market leadership in the United States through its ubiquitous branded debit and credit cards. With household consumption making up 68% of the country's GDP, Visa stock is an investment in the long-term strength of the American economy. But the investment thesis here doesn't stop with America. The company's international expansion and the increasing prevalence of e-commerce will also be significant growth drivers.
Visa's latest earnings release, which covers the quarter ending June 30, reflects the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which dramatically reduced consumer spending due to lockdowns and travel restrictions in the U.S. and internationally. Net revenue fell 17% on lower transaction volume, and earnings fell 22% to $1.07 per share.
But Visa is poised to bounce back. Consumer spending is rebounding as countries relax their restrictions. And online shopping, a major driver of credit and debit card use, remains elevated. Management also has a wide array of projects to expand Visa's footprint outside North America and Europe.
Recently, Visa started working with Facebook to introduce a new payment feature on WhatsApp in Brazil that will let users purchase items or send money to family and friends through the popular messaging app. The company has also renewed its partnership with OCBC Bank, Singapore's second-largest debit issuer.
Amazon
Amazon has evolved from an online bookseller into a massive e-commerce platform. The company's market dominance and compelling pivot to cloud computing and healthcare make it another popular Robinhood stock that will stand the test of time. And unlike Visa, Amazon's latest quarterly results showed phenomenal performance.
Net sales jumped 40% to $88.91 billion while operating income soared 89% to $5.84 billion due to increased stay-at-home shopping during the pandemic. Amazon's cloud computing service, Amazon Web Services, made up $3.36 billion (58%) of the company's operating income and is poised for continued growth due to the megatrend of business computing moving from traditional data centers to the public cloud.
Amazon is also making an aggressive push into healthcare, an arguably limitless industry where it may have a competitive edge because of its extensive logistics infrastructure and investments into artificial intelligence.
In August, Amazon's India division launched a pilot pharmacy delivery program in the city of Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore) amid the pandemic. Amazon is also making significant healthcare investments in the United States through the $753 million acquisition of drug distributor PillPack in 2018. And it's reportedly working on a vaccine for the common cold, an illness that costs the U.S. economy at least $40 billion a year.
